U.S. Senator Cory Booker, United States Congress (D-N.J.)

Senator Booker won a special election to fill the term of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg in October 2013, becoming New Jersey’s first African-American Senator. He serves on the Senate’s Commerce; Science and Transportation; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and Environment and Public Works Committees. Prior to serving in the U.S. Senate, Senator Booker served as Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, the state’s largest city. As Mayor, he saw the city entering into its biggest period of economic growth since the 1960s. Senator Booker was born in Washington, D.C. He now resides in the city of Newark’s Central Ward community.

Senator Booker knows the challenges family caregivers face when navigating the healthcare system. His father lived with Parkinson’s disease for 10 years before passing away in 2013, with his mother serving as his caregiver for much of that time.

Senator Booker has called attention to the journey his own family experienced by publishing an Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun Times on Parkinson’s disease and his family’s experience caring for his father. He has written that, “Caregivers, like my mom, face extraordinary demands both physically and emotionally. More often than not, they are the ones navigating the treatment and care path- trying to figure out which approaches will bear the best results for their loves ones.” (Source)

His family’s experience and the experiences of other families caring for a loved one with a debilitating illness or disease inspired Senator Booker to sponsor S.2866 – The In-Home Caregiver Assessment Resources and Education Act, a bill to authorize grants for the support of caregivers.

The National Alliance for Caregiving commends Senator Booker for bringing much needed attention to the caregiving journey and for sponsoring legislation to assist caregivers.